What Matters
by Havenlovergirl
Summary: Emily Prentiss knew shwe was missing somthing; she just didnt know how close it was.
1. Chapter 1

June 14 2012 10:47 pm  
He ran through the house shoving past dressers and slamming doors in a struggle to escape the grip of the piercing eyes chasing him through his own home. Shots rang out. He fell. The gun dropped to his side and slow, heavy steps lead the piercing eyes out of his home.

June 15 2012 1:07 am  
There they all sat at one in the morning in an attempt to finish the paperwork they knew they would put off if they didn't finish.  
Prentiss lay with her head on her desk like a teen in school who hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before.  
Reid sat with his mouth gaping open and his hands neatly folded in his lap, a slight snore escaping his body.  
Morgan sat awake, his head hung over a few files, working vigorously hoping to stay awake.  
JJ laid in her chair with her head on her shoulder and like Reid, snoring softly.  
Up in his office, Hotch looked over his team and laughed slightly at the sight of most of his agents passed out at their desks with piles of paper infront of them.  
Rossi sat in the next room working contently on the last page of his paperwork, just happy to be back in DC and not on a case somewhere far from his home.  
A few rooms away, Garcia typed vigorously, looking up God knows what on her many computer screens.  
Just as she goes to exit her page to shut down and go home for the night, a message pops up alerting her that they have a case. Kentucky police want them out immediately to find the killer of 42 year old Grayson Mecks and his wife Bria. Both shot in the chest once like three other couples in the area. Up on the screens, photos of crime scenes shown. In each of the photos there was a picture of a different couple, each African American or mixed race, all thin and sickly looking. Likely heavy drug users.  
Garcia looked over the photos and various legal documents before hitting print and preparing to brief the team. She called Hotch and told him to gather together everyone to the conference room.  
"good morning my beauties" Garcia said as they rushed around the room about fifteen minutes later as she passed files around for everyone to look at. "Grayson and Bria Mecks are the most recent victims of a string of murders. If you take a look at all the pictures, you can probably notice what they have in common. I'm guessing heroin, but I'm not totally sure."  
"are they at the coroners yet?" Prentiss asked, obviously still not totally awake.  
" only the Shawns and Dexums, not the Mecks, they are still at the scene."  
"what was the time of death?" JJ asked looking over the papers.  
"around eleven pm, the cops were on a drug bust when they coincidentally found them dead. MO was the same as the other two from yesterday and Saturday. They have found it to much to handle, so they called us," Garcia finished.  
"Go home and rest. We leave at eight." Hotch finished and left the room signaling for the test of the team to leave their seats.

June 15 2012 8:12 am  
Emily Prentiss sat looking out the window as the jet took off, silently lost in her own thoughts. Her eyes, the only thing showing her true emotions, hidden away from everyone. She thought of the may regrets she had in her life. The small ones like wearing that pink dress instead of the red one to her cousins Christmas themed wedding, and the big ones like moving into the ratty apartment next to the heavy smoker that had drilled holes in the wall and watched her get dressed when she was just out of collage. Her biggest regret though, was missing out on her best chance at having a family all those years back when she was a teenager. Dispite the fact that she was too young and not at all ready, she would have had a person to share her struggles with. To share her pain with. She would have had a child to love and care for, something she longed for now but felt she could never have because of her missed her chance. She watched as they passed through clouds and over towns on the way to try and give peace to shattered families.  
As Prentiss sat thinking, Agent Derek Morgan watched as she sighed and watched the clouds. He knew something was wrong from the way she sat turned away from everyone and ignoring the various conversations around her. He walked slowly over to where his friend sat and took a seat across from her.  
"hey, what's up with you? You alright?" he asked his teammate in front of him.  
"oh, oh I'm fine, I'm good." she said, but the tone in her voice said the opposite.  
"you shore? Cuz your actin like somethings bothering you. I'm here I you need to talk, ya know." he told her in a comforting voice.  
"I'm ok" she answered him in a hopeful effort to be alone. She appreciated the offer, but she just wanted to walk alone in her mind for the time being.  
"Ok" he responded in an unsure tone, knowing that something was bothering her, but not wanting to push her too far.  
After he left she looked back out the window with a sigh.

June 15 2012 10:45 am  
After discussing a few more small details about the case and a quick video chat session wit Garcia, the team was quickly approaching Louisville, Kentucky.  
"Rossi, Prentiss, you go to the Mecks's. JJ, you and Reid go to the Dexum's and look for patterns. Morgan, your with me, we'll set up at the station. Ready?" Hotch finished as the jet landed and their case officially began.

June 15 2012 11:28 am  
"You ok?" Rossi asked Prentiss, who still had a depressing ora coming off of her body, from the driver's seat.  
"Yea, I'm fine," She answered, in the same unconfident tone that she used with Morgan.  
He just glanced over at her as they pulled in front of the disheveled home of the Mecks.  
Prentiss quickly got out of the car an rushed in through the open front door of the house currently full of officers. She walked over the the deputy and showed him her badge. "Agent Prentiss this is Agent Rossi," she stated to the tall, muscular, middle aged man infront of her.  
"We were wondering when you were going to show up," he responded with a smile, "Wife's body is over there and the husbands is down that hall," he finished.  
"Thank you," Rossi responded before he turned to Prentiss, "You check out the husband and I'll look at the wife," he told the agent to his left. She nodded and walked down the hall to where the body was.  
Prentiss had just bent over the body when she heard light steps above her. She turned to the deputy, "Is anyone upstairs?" she asked.  
"No, ma'am, we cleared it out this morning, but your welcome to look." he answered, confusion written on his face.  
"Thanks," she said as she stood up and headed for the stairs. She went up slowly glancing around as she went. Just as she took the last step she heard a thud causing her to instinctively pull her gun out. She looked around before walking around and pushing open all the doors.  
Just as she was about to turn around, she noticed a small door cut out of the wall hidden in the corner behind a tall fake plant. She walked over an pushed aside the plans and unhooked the latch on the small door. She pulled it open and bent over.  
What she saw was a sight no person should ever have to see. A small body lying on a pile of blankets. She slowly entered through the small entrance that lead into a 10x10 room. She covered her mouth as she approached the small form.  
A boy, he appeared to be about three. Thin. Bruises covered his sickly looking body. Long hair that went to about his shoulders covered his neck and part of his innocent face. He was only wearing a pair of little boy underwear that were blotchy with stains. He clung to the black, tattered cloth beneath him as he sucked his thumb.  
She knelt down and brushed his cheek to wake him up softly.  
He stirred slightly before settling back into a still sleep. Sh placed her hand on his shoulder and shook slightly, holding back tears as she attempted to wake the small child. His eyes fluttered open and he looked up at her and he whimpered as he pushed himself up and backed to the wall and sat on the floor.  
"Hey, honey, it's ok. I'm not gong to hurt you," she said to the shaking boy in a comforting voice as she took slow steps toward him.  
When she got about three feet from him she got down on her knees and repeated the words "It's ok, it's ok."  
Slowly he opened up to her as she looked into his eyes. He allowed the strange woman to come near him as he stood. He held his small, bruised arms out to Prentiss, gesturing for her to lift him up.  
She looked at the small boy with surprise as he asked her to pick him up. She stood and lifted the boy up. He immediately placed his head in the crook of her neck.  
He felt safe with the strange woman. She looked like no one he ha ever seen. She had kind eyes and didn't yell at him or hit him. She just held him and told him it was safe. He liked that. He liked the woman with the kind eyes who told him he was safe.


	2. Chapter 2

Emily Prentiss looked down at the small child who's arms were wrapped around her neck in shock. A boy who obviously been beaten and starved, was clinging to a woman he had just met.

She held him to her chest and cried for the boy for a few minutes before turing and ducking under the doorway, covering his head so she didn't bump it on their way out.

"Rossi," she called down to the man who was talking to the deputy about the wife's gunshot wound.

He turned and looked up the stairs and saw her standing there with a small boy hanging on her neck. He quickly rushed up the stairs to meet his teammate.

"I heard steps coming from up here and found him in there," she said, obviously shaken from what she had found behind the small door.

"Oh my God. Do you think he belongs to the victims?" he asked her in a hushed tone as the boy peered out at him before hiding his face in her shoulder again.

"That's my only guess. He needs a doctor. Should we call an ambulance or should I drive him in?" she asked, showing concern for the child in her arms.

"We can drive him," he responded and fished for his keys.

She nodded and they proceeded down the stairs an out the door. Rossi turned to the Deputy.

"We gotta go now. Someone else will come soon," he told him in a stern voice, leaving the man with a look of confusion at the sight he had just seen.

Rossi started the car quickly and pulled out into the road carefully. Prentiss sat in the back with the boy layed out with is head in her lap. He glanced back at them in the rearview mirror. She watched the young child as he looked around the car.

"Honey, do you have a name?" she asked him quietly.

"I don know," he responded in a small voice that broke Emily's heart.

How could someone do something this horrible to this little boy? She thought to herself. She had only met him fifteen minutes ago, but she already cared about him more than she could imagine. She knew it was bad to get too close to a person involved in case, but she couldn't help but to melt when he looked up at her with those big, brown eyes, so innocently. It brought tears to her eyes to think that someone had hurt him so badly.

June 15 2012 12:03 pm

A few minutes later they pulled into Baptist East and Emily lifted the little boy back onto her hip. The walked in quickly, Rossi flashing his badge at the receptionist and explaining the complicated situation. Prentiss went and took a seat in one of the chairs, pulling the child into her lap and wrapping her arms around his middle while he settled down into her lap.

After a few minutes a nurse directed them to a room and wrapped a plastic hospital bracalet around the boys wrist. She handed Prentiss a small hospital gown for her to dress the boy in.

Once they were settles and waiting Rossi dialed Hotch.

You could hear him struggle to find the words to explain the complex situation to his boss. Once he finished he turned to the two sitting on the hospital bed in the same position as in the waiting room twenty minutes ago.

"Iv gotta go. Hotch wants me at the station," he said, "someone will come by later to swich places with you or something. Call if you need anything," he finished.

"I will," she answered before he turned and left.

A few moments later the doctor came in to examine him.

"Hello, I'm doctor McGee," a tall African American man said with a kind smile that showed bright, white teeth.

"Agent Emily Prentiss," she said shaking his hand and using the other to rub the shoulder of the boy who was now clutching onto her jacket.

"Ok let's see what we got here. No medical records right?," he asked. Prentiss nodded. "Ok, I'm going to do a physical examination, and then draw some blood. After that I'm going to hook him up to an IV to give him some nutrients, get his system stronger." he finished while pulling out a voice recorder. "I like to record everything and go back and write it down later," he told her.

"Ok. Race, African American. Age, between two and four. Can we get him on the scale?" he asked.

Emily nodded and walked over to the scale. She sat him down. He fussed a little but quieted down when she offered her hand for him to hold.

"Ok weight...32 pounds. Can you stand here for me?" he asked the small boy, gesturing to a strip on the wall that measured height.

Prentiss took the boy and guided him to the strip and held his hand. The doctor only got within 4 feet of him when he started to cry. He fell into Emily's arms as he wailed.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong honey?" she asked as the boy cried into her shoulder.

"Don let him hut meeee!" he cried.

"Oh, no, he's a doctor. He's gonna make you feel all better. It's ok, it's ok." she told him rubbing his back. "Can you just stand right there, please, I'll hold your hand."

He nodded and stood against the wall, grasping her hand.

"Ok...height...36 inches," the doctor stated as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small needle with a long tube that led to a small bag. "This is a butterfly. It is the least painful way to take blood. I can already see he is unsure about me so I'm going to have one of the nurses take his blood. I'm going to go and get some forms. The nurse will be in here shortly." he finished before turning and leaving.


End file.
